Review: 'How to Train Your Dragon' flies into San Jose

The stars of the show are every bit as impressive as promised in "DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular."

Too bad the rest of the production isn't quite as thrilling as the fire-breathing, high-flying dragons, which truly rank as the most lifelike-looking animatronic creations I've ever laid eyes on. Of course, I've never seen a real dragon but, after witnessing this show Wednesday at HP Pavilion in San Jose, I feel like I have.

That's why this production, despite its flaws, is worth recommending. Sure, it's too long, some jokes fall flat and the performances from the supporting cast (i.e., the humans) are often uninspired. Yet the creators absolutely nailed the most important aspect of the show -- they got the dragons right.

That had to be the No. 1 concern for the many dedicated fans of the source material, DreamWorks' 2010 smash animated film "How to Train Your Dragon." If the dragons in this live adaptation didn't resemble the ones in the film both in terms of appearance and personality then the real critics -- the young fans of the movie who've watched it dozens of times -- surely wouldn't be happy.

Fortunately, the kids decked out in dragon gear Wednesday night seemed delighted with the flying creatures. They might have known that the dragons weren't real but, if so, they also appeared more than willing to suspend disbelief for two hours and some change.

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The script takes some liberties with the film's storyline, which might not please some fans, but it still basically spins the same tall tale. The two-legged star of the show is once again the good-natured, but bumbling Hiccup, and the action takes place on the island of Berk, a Viking outpost with more than its share of annoying "pests."

"Most people have mice or mosquitoes," Hiccup explains at the start of the show. "We have dragons. Most people would leave, but not us. We're Vikings."

As Vikings, they have a commonly agreed upon method of dealing with these pests -- they kill them. That makes Hiccup's world a dangerous place where beefy men with shields and swords regularly do battle with deadly gargantuan creatures. Hiccup wants to do his part but his fellow Vikings -- especially dear old Dad, Stoick, the chieftain of the tribe -- feel he's not cut out to be a dragon slayer.

Hiccup sets out to prove them wrong and ends up capturing one of the most dreaded dragons of all. Hiccup can't bring himself to kill the beast and ends up helping it instead. The bond that forms between the would-be slayer and the dragon called Toothless is the storyline's heart and soul -- at least it is in the film. It's not nearly as convincing, or as touching, on the live stage.

That relationship is overshadowed, both figuratively and literally, by the dragons themselves. It's hard to really care about "a boy and his dog story," which is how DreamWorks' Eric Stevens summed up the essence of the tale, when you're so distracted by those magnificent flying machines.

And there is plenty to marvel over. The production features 13 dragons, representing nine different "species." Each one is enormous, weighing as much as 2.6 tons and featuring wingspans that reach up to 46 feet. It takes several individuals -- or puppeteers, if you will -- to operate each creation.

They also fly at speeds reaching 15 to 20 mph, and fight, with fire and other special effects. Yet, perhaps the most impressive aspect of the creatures is the detail work -- the eyes move, the facial expressions change.

These dragons are nothing less than a crowning achievement for Australia's Global Creatures, the company that made its name with the 2010 blockbuster "Walking With Dinosaurs" arena tour.